The Big Fat PowerPC Mac Post

punishedgnome

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Not exactly what this thread is about but I got this G3 iMac laying around and I had been thinking about using it as a monitor, possibly for playing retro games and stuff. Anyone tried it? I mean like, somehow bypassing the actual computer and utilizing solely the screen.
Did some Googling after I read your post and found an interesting thread where someone was talking about it here.

Seems like a semi-complicated project where you have to run the signal through some arduinos, but it's doable.
 
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handoferis

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Not exactly what this thread is about but I got this G3 iMac laying around and I had been thinking about using it as a monitor, possibly for playing retro games and stuff. Anyone tried it? I mean like, somehow bypassing the actual computer and utilizing solely the screen.
 
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Brapuccino

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Now we're in business, thanks!
 

przemub

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It's a very cool post, thanks!

Let me add some of my "modern Linux" experience here.

I hosted a small multi-user server on a Mac Mini G4 from 2015-2020 for my classmates. It handled websites and e-mail for around 15 people like a champ. It ran 24/7 for all these years. Debian 8 is the last version with support for ppc32, and the support being dropped from Debian 9 was the reason I moved the server onto a virtual machine.

I need to find a new purpose for it :)
 

Dark Agent

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Even more updates!

I cleaned, restored and upgraded my PowerMac G4 MDD!
It now has a 128GB SSD, 2GB RAM, 10.4.11 Tiger and new replacement fans (the originals were loud asf). Using MacPorts you can run modern CLI software like Python 3.10 and bash 5.2.10 on such an old OS.
I also won an auction for a PowerBook G4 15" 1.33GHz for 60€. I replaced the thermal paste, cleaned it up, fixed the hinges and put a modern mSATA SSD, this thing flies now!
 
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punishedgnome

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Even more updates!

I cleaned, restored and upgraded my PowerMac G4 MDD!
It now has a 128GB SSD, 2GB RAM, 10.4.11 Tiger and new replacement fans (the originals were loud asf). Using MacPorts you can run modern CLI software like Python 3.10 and bash 5.2.10 on such an old OS.
I also won an auction for a PowerBook G4 15" 1.33GHz for 60€. I replaced the thermal paste, cleaned it up, fixed the hinges and put a modern mSATA SSD, this thing flies now!
Have you managed to use it to build a modern browser like Firefox from source?
 
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punishedgnome

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No one managed to compile modern Firefox on PPC since like Firefox 45 (InterWebPPC)
Interesting. I wonder if it's not doable or if no one with the technical know how has bothered. Are there some new required libraries that no one bothered to back port to PPC or is there some other reason? I don't know enough about it to know why it wouldn't work. I've only ever compiled stuff on modern x64 machines and Raspberry Pis and everything is readily available on those platforms.
 
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